title: Associations of parental control of feeding with eating in the absence of hunger and food sneaking, hiding, and hoarding.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Overweight children as young as 5 years old exhibit disturbances in eating behaviors.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using follow-up data from 419 participants in High Five for Kids, a randomized controlled trial of overweight children, the prevalence of (1) eating in the absence of hunger and (2) food sneaking, hiding, and hoarding was estimated and cross-sectional associations of parental control of feeding and these behaviors were examined using covariate-adjusted logistic regression models.
  
  
  RESULTS
  At follow-up, mean [standard deviation (SD)] age of the children was 7.1 (1.2) years; 49% were female; 16% were healthy weight, 35% were overweight, and 49% were obese. On the basis of parental report, 16.5% of children were eating in the absence of hunger and 27.2% were sneaking, hiding, or hoarding food; 57.5% of parents endorsed parental control of feeding. In adjusted models, children exposed to parental control of feeding were more likely to eat in the absence of hunger [odds ratio (OR) 3.37, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.66, 6.86], but not to sneak, hide, or hoard food (OR 1.43, 95% CI 0.87, 2.36).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Disturbances in eating behaviors are common among overweight children. Future research should be dedicated to identifying strategies that normalize eating behaviors and prevent excess weight gain among overweight children.
authors.affiliation: Division of Adolescent Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA. kendrin.sonneville@childrens.harvard.edu
authors.forename: Kendrin R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Sonneville
authors.forename: Sheryl L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Rifas-Shiman
authors.forename: Jess
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Haines
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gortmaker
authors.forename: Kathleen F
authors.initials: KF
authors.lastname: Mitchell
authors.forename: Matthew W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Gillman
authors.forename: Elsie M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Taveras
mesh_terms: D001900:Boston / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D006815:Hunger; D008297:Male; D009770:Obsessive Behavior / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology*; D063766:Pediatric Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology*